If you've been on social media and in a genealogy group there, sooner or later THE question is going to be asked. I bet you know what I'm going to say, right? Yes, that's the one. "If you could talk with any of your ancestors, which one/ two/three/ five would you like to talk with and why?" I usually just scroll on by. Most people want their brick walls dismantled. Don't we all? How brazen of them. Well, I'm an administrator of one of those social media genealogy groups and a few days ago I asked that same question but with the caveat that the visit could have nothing to do with a brick wall. Hey, these folks were good. They had genuine interests and weren't just looking for an easy way through the wall (although I'm willing to bet copious sums of money borrowed at high interest rates at short term that most would steer the interview in the direction of that wall. I know these people.).
This compound question led me to think. That can be dangerous at times. I thought I'd blog about the five ancestors I'd like to meet and why, while avoiding the proverbial brick wall questions. I thought I'd write it in the form of a letter to you, my future "cousin", "niece", "nephew", "grandchild". Aren't you feeling lucky? Here goes:
Dear Descendant:
So, it looks like you found me. Guess that means I'm not your brick wall. I tried my best to leave a trail. By now, I imagine that Ancestry has posted my Facebook conversations, and the Boone County Sheriff's Department & NKY/Cincinnati Airport Police have published and sold their traffic violations and if so, you, being my descendant and thereby, not a fool, have found them. I just want you to know that I can explain everything, just not now. You'll have to wait. Instead, I want to tell you who the five ancestors are that I want to talk with and what I want them to tell me. I may have found out the answers while I was alive but as of this post, I haven't a clue. Rest assured, if I wind up in the same place as all or some of them, I'll find the answers I didn't find when I was here on earth. When I do, I'll do my best to move you in the right direction. I want you to succeed. Be on the lookout for my signs. They won't involve heights or water. I'm scared to death of both. (No pun intended.)
They all tie for first place. True. Not a cop-out. That's why I had to do five ancestors. That makes sense to me and if you and I are close in the gene pool, it should to you, unless you didn't inherit my side of your family's ability to infer. We, traditionally, are a people of many inferences, few words, and lots of heated arguments due to all that inferring. That's what makes us interesting, my dear descendant. Here's my list:
1. Judge Joseph Macauley Lowe
2. Richard Stowers
3. Reverend Lt. James F. Jenkins
4. Delilah Henry Asbury
5. "Wild" Bill Moore
I'll start with number one:
Judge Joseph Macauley Lowe
Yeah, he's the inspiration for this blog. I wrote briefly about him earlier. If you'd like to read it, click here. He was a much more eloquent writer than I will ever be. You should thank me for being lousy. Quite frankly, that speech he gave and included in his family history booklet, An Idle Hour in Life's Pilgrimage, put me to sleep. I've never been able to read it all. No doubt about it, he was a smart man. To me, he is more interesting than he was smart. Here was a man who lost his father at an early age but didn't use that as his excuse to become a hooligan. Judge Lowe, as he is widely called due to his political life, joined Tom Moore's Company of Giltner's Regiment, Co. D, 4th KY Regiment, CSA at the age of 16. His older brother John Watson Lowe died in that war while J.M. was still at home, you know. Yet, here goes J.M. off to fight. I get bored easily while typing, so here's the short biography about this event that I found in the index of Battles and Biographies of Missourians in a Missouri library's online records. They photocopied it and sent it to me via email for all of $3.
Quite exciting, wouldn't you say? I'd like to ask him if he was ever scared to death. I want to know if he ever, almost got caught or thought he was about to be caught. I want to know what some of the "thrilling" adventures were and I'd like to know why I can't find his military record. Where should I look? I also wonder if he ever thought about being an actor after this experience. The two jobs seem to be similar. I also want to know if his brother, Moses, fought in the Union Army or was that his cousin, Moses. I want to know which Moses deserted the Confederate Army. If either or both applied to his brother, I'd ask him how their relationship was post-Civil War. I want to know how his family learned of his brother, John Watson's, death. Did someone send a letter to them? Who? How did they get the letter through the lines? Where is he buried? I also want to know what he thought of my mother's 2nd great-grandfather, James Jenkins, a 2nd Lt. for Tom Moore. What was he like? Did he pray with the men before they went into battle like Leonidas Polk did? Did he ever come back to northern KY to recruit after the deal with the stolen horse? And, I want to know if J.M. is the "Mack Lowe" mentioned in the deposition given by James Thompson in this case. I read something in the Grant County Historical Society's file that made me think he was also known as Mack. If he was known as Mack, I want to know how they distinguished him from his cousin, Mack. And speaking of Cousin Mack, what did the middle initial "M" stand for in Willis's name? Was it also Macauley? Where did the name Macauley come from in his name? Distinguishing him from Uncle Mack would be easy but Cousin Mack is a different story. I digress. That's what questioning does to me.
After J.M. got out of the courier business, he went to Indiana to teach school and read the law. It was here that he passed the bar. I haven't done much research on this part of his life, so I'll hold off on the questions. He wasn't there very long.
Upon passing the bar, he moved to Missouri. Eventually, he became a prosecuting attorney. It's important to understand that many folks from Callensville, Pendleton County, and Grant County, all located in Kentucky ended up in Missouri and even in the same towns. I want to know if, or how, J.M. is related to the young gent in this article. I'm pretty darned sure he wasn't the kid's uncle but the name "Kendall" has shown up here and there in J.M.'s Porter line... as a first and a middle name, and maybe as a last name but if so, I've not found it to be, yet. After reading this article, tell me you aren't interested in their relationship. I bet you can't.
A part of me also wants to know if J.M. gave the benefit of a doubt to the kid and used his influence to get young Kendall out of the mess. But a part of me doesn't think that was the Judge's style. By all accounts, he was a 'straight arrow'. I'd ask him to clear that up for me just the same. I'm like that. I have a need to hear from the horse's mouth, so to speak. I just realized that you will probably need to brush up on the use of idioms since I seem to talk in Idiom. Oh, well, that's how the ball rolls.
The next two clippings just make me tired. I want to know how he found the time. Did John Roger, his son, do most of this work while Uncle supplied the green? Just how many hours of sleep per night did the Judge get on average? I've always said sleep is overrated but it's still something ya gotta do. I'm just sayin'.
I don't know what you know about cows and I have prided myself on staying as ignorant as possible about them. I count 78 cows. That's about 78 more than I'd want. Maybe not, I did have a pet cow one once, he became hamburger when I left for school. I haven't been interested in cows or hamburger since. But that's another story for another day. Back to the point, I would just ask if he got into cattle for a particular reason. Was it that he missed farm life? How would he rate Roger as a farmer?
Next, I want to ask if the National Exchange bank failed for the reasons listed or for some other reasons. If he says "other reasons", I want to know what they were. I've not checked it out but the scuttle-butt is that he was able to liquidate, pay off the debts, and the stockholders got a nice sum. If I haven't determined if this is the case, I'd ask him. It would save me valuable research time if he'd just answer.
Then, of course, there is his political career. I'd ask him what it was like to be a delegate to the electoral college. Also, What was the Trans-Mississippi Congress? and did it accomplish what the powers that be thought it would? How much of his time did this obligation require? What was the Waterways Convention? and what did they strive to do? and did they do it? How did he find the time to do his 'due diligence' to these causes? How did he like the term "Popocrat" and did its platform really reflect his personal politics? What does he think of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party today? Would he be surprised that his Democrat leanings are now Republican leanings? Was he disappointed that he didn't fare well at all in the race for lieutenant governor? What would he have liked to achieve if he'd been elected? I'm not even going to include those articles here. They are dull. That's why I'm asking him the questions.
The really good stuff is in the National Old Trails Association. Here are some articles for you to read and then we'll talk questions.
The Council Grove Republican (Council Grove, Kansas) · Fri, Apr 24, 1914 · Page 1
This is just the tip of the iceberg, as the saying goes. (There goes those idioms again! Don't say I didn't warn you.) Google National Old Trails Association if you don't believe me. (Don't be smart... I realize Google might not be around but another search engine just might be as effective. You have to try.) He even wrote a book about it! ( The National Old Trails Road: The Great Historic Highway of America ) Did I mention that part of the National Old Trails Road is, at least in my lifetime, part of the famous Route 66? It is. I'd have to ask what he thinks of that! There is so much else to ask. I'm sure he traveled quite a bit around the country promoting his idea of "good roads". I read a news article that when speaking to the US Congress in an effort to get funding, he admitted to not owning a car. REALLY? The Good Roads Guy didn't own a car? I want to know why. Why did roads matter to him if he didn't drive? Why didn't he own a car? I realize he could and did travel by train when going great distances but how did he get around town or to the next town? Was he chicken or was he cheap? Did he think it would lead to laziness? Don't worry, I'll reword the last two questions. But quite frankly, I was, and probably still am, aghast!
Other questions, I'd ask: Did you ever miss Kentucky? Did you ever think of coming home to live? Did you keep in touch with any of your boyhood friends and if so, who? What can you tell me about them and their childhoods and adult lives? Where is your dad buried? (I'm pretty sure he's not really at Williamstown like Find a Grave says he is.) How is Samuel Sanford Lowe related? His dad was Sam Sr. but I can't connect him to any of the other Lowes around. What were my grandparents like (your brother Thomas & Lucy Asberry)? What did they look like? Why did Thomas die so young? Why do you spell Lucy's last name, "Ashberry"?
And last but certainly not the least of my requests is for him to take Billy Newman and me on a tour of Callensville and the surrounding area. I want to know where his school was located. I want to know where the businesses were all located and who lived where in Callensville. I want to hear the stories. But most of all, I want him to take us to Hand's Mill and show us where the Mill Pond was. I want him to describe, in his rich vocabulary, swimming in it on a hot summer day. I want him to be so vivid in his description that I feel I was there with him and the local boys when they were swimming.
Since I've spent a huge portion of time and space on Uncle J.M., I'm calling it quits for tonight. You will have to read on for the next entries.
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